Tofu Bake With Vegan Makhani Sauce

2 bowls of vegan Tofu Makhani Bake served on a tray

Tofu Bake With Vegan Makhani Sauce

Indian vegan Tofu Makhani Bake recipe is creamy, buttery, and absolutely delicious! Here, crispy baked tofu is cooked in a rich and creamy homemade Makhani sauce! The perfect holiday centerpiece that will make you want to skip the takeout and go for seconds!

Course entree

Cuisine American, Asian

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 1

Tofu Press time 30

Total Time 1 45

Servings people

Calories 350.63kcal

Author Priya Lakshminarayan

Equipment

pan
Oven
Tofuture

Ingredients

30 oz Extra-firm Tofu

Vegan Makhani Sauce

2 tablespoon cooking oil or vegan butter
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
2 green chilies
1 tablespoon ginger paste
2 tablespoon garlic paste
½ onion roughly chopped
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
1-2 bay leaf
1 cinnamon stick
2-3 cloves
2 cardamom pods
¼ cup cashews
3 tomatoes roughly chopped
2 teaspoon garam masala
2 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
3 tablespoon tomato ketchup
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon dried fenugreek leaves
salt
¼ cup water
1 cup vegan cream

To make Tofu Makhani Bake

½ tablespoon cooking oil
½ onion thinly sliced
½ cup mushrooms sliced
cloves for garnish optional
2 tablespoon nutritional yeast
2 teaspoon black sesame seeds
2-3 tablespoon cilantro
2-3 tablespoon grated vegan cheese
1 tablespoon lemon juice optional

Instructions

To prep the tofu

Drain the water from the tofu packet.
Place it inside the Tofuture and press it as shown in the video. Refrigerate it for 30 minutes or until dry. You can also leave it overnight.
Once pressed, remove the tofu and pat dry. Drain out the water that's collected below and the tofu is ready for use.
Whenever you plan on making Tofu Makhani Bake, prep tofu this way, on the previous day.

Vegan Makhani Sauce

Heat a pan and add oil or vegan butter. Once, it's hot enough, add and fry cumin seeds, green chilies, ginger, garlic, onions, poppy seeds, bay leaf, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, and cashews.
Fry for 1-2 minutes. Then add chopped tomatoes, garam masala, paprika, turmeric, tomato ketchup, sugar, salt, and dried fenugreek leaves.
Cook till the tomatoes turn soft and pulpy. Take it off the flame and allow it to cool down. Discard the bay leaf and cinnamon stick.
Transfer all the contents to a blender and blitz to make a smooth puree. Add ¼ cup of water if needed.
Alternatively, you can also use a hand blender to make a puree.
Pass this puree through a sieve. Do not throw away the pulp.
Transfer the makhani puree to the same pan and bring to a boil.
Add vegan cream and give it a good mix. Check the taste and add more seasoning if necessary.
The consistency of this Vegan Makhani sauce should be thick and creamy. Do not thin it down. Transfer it to a bowl and keep it aside for now.

To make Tofu Makhani Bake

Cut off the edges of the pressed tofu to give it a clean shape. This is an optional step though.
Lightly saute the discarded tofu along with sliced onions and mushrooms in the same pan along with the discarded pulp.
It just gives the veggies so much more flavor rather than adding them raw plus there is zero wastage!
Dip the prepared tofu in the makhani sauce and place it in a greased baking dish. Stuff all the sides with the sauteed veggies.
Make diagonal slits all over the tofu in opposite directions, so you get a criss-cross pattern. Stick a clove where the slits cross.
Garnish with chopped cilantro, nutritional yeast, black sesame seeds, and vegan cheese and bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees F.
Once it's golden brown, take it out, remove the cloves using kitchen tweezers.
Then drizzle some lemon juice, and vegan cream over it if needed, and then immediately serve this crispy baked tofu.
Cut and take a generous helping of this tofu Makhani Bake and pair it with naan, roti, or any other flatbread. It will also taste great with some Jeera Rice or just plain steamed rice.

Notes

It's OK to skip adding the dried fenugreek leaves if unavailable. But it does help in creating that authentic taste. You may swap it with 1 teaspoon of mustard powder. It's not an exact substitution but it works. Inserting cloves is purely for aesthetic value. You can skip that step if you want. Use almonds instead of cashews if you want to go nut-free, or just skip the nuts and use coconut cream or silken tofu.

Feel free to add more veggies along with mushrooms and onions while baking. You can add bell peppers, zucchini, cauliflower, broccoli, etc. Instead of tofu, you can also use cauliflower florets, eggplants, potatoes, or sweet potatoes in this recipe.

Select a baking dish that's slightly bigger than the size of the tofu. This allows the sauce to go up around the sides of the tofu and saturate its interior. You can also add some water or vegetable stock to adjust the consistency of the Makhani sauce. For those of you who are not vegan, you can make this same dish using paneer and regular cream and cheese.

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